Two Dutchmen put on a show during stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia in Hungary, and in the end it was Briton Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) who took the victory in the 9.2km time trial across the Danube.
Among the late riders on the course, with its twisting path in Budapest that included a 1.3km climb to the finish, Dutch champion Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) set a blistering pace of 11:55. However, just moments later, Yates crashed the former TT World Champion’s aspirations for victory by finishing five seconds faster.
It was then up to the final rider on the course, race leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), to find a way to take another win and retain the pink jersey. He finished three seconds behind Yates to keep the maglia rosa.
Matteo Sobrero (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) and 20-year-old Ben Tulett (Ineos Grenadiers) both finished 13 seconds back for fourth and fifth, respectively.
Yates vaulted up to second place overall, trailing Van der Poel by 11 seconds, while Dumoulin is now third at 16 seconds. Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe), one of the top performers among the GC favourites, holds fifth overall at 24 seconds back from the race leader while João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) is 11th at 29 seconds. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Romain Bardet (DSM) are 14th and 15th, 35 seconds down on Van der Poel and 24 seconds down on Yates.
Watch the highlights of the opening stage above.
